Author: Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR

Which of the 7 Deadly Sins Are Your Managers Committing—Right Now?

Managers, managers, managers. Why can’t they just follow your policies and your practices? Wishful thinking. Here are seven deadly sins that your managers are probably committing right now, down the hall. Sin 1. Lust Sexual harassment continues to be a problem in the workplace. And it’s often worse when it’s a manager and a subordinate. […]

Can Failure to Train Be Considered Employment Discrimination?

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals— which covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee— recently reaffirmed that failure to train an employee can be an actionable form of discrimination. Facts Charles Reed, an African American, began working as a technician at Procter & Gamble’s Tennessee plant in 1996. He was promoted to a technician 2 position […]

Variable Pay—What’s Working? What’s Not?

Variable pay. Pay for performance. Simple concepts but difficult in practice. What’s happening in the real world? What are your competitors up to? Help us find out! Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers to these questions […]

Employer Faces State-law Claims After False Promise Causes Beneficiary to Skip COBRA Coverage

A former employee left with more than $13,000 in unpaid medical bills after his employer retroactively terminated his employment and health benefits can sue for state-law claims, a federal district court ruled. The individual alleged that while he was hospitalized, the employer said his expenses would be covered. Thus, he did not elect COBRA coverage. […]

Edginess About Ebola Points to Need for Pandemic Preparation

An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa is causing concern in the United States, as the medical community and various organizations watch to see if the outbreak will be contained, or will spread globally. Although this situation is occurring thousands of miles away, it is a good reminder for businesses in the United […]

Variable Pay—What’s Working? What’s Not?

Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers to these questions and more: Who’s providing what incentive pay types for which employee groups? How effective is each type of variable pay at motivating employees? What are the three […]

Give Your Training a Helping Hand

Trainers might inadvertently send the wrong message based on their “hand behaviors” (i.e., how they hold their hands and what they do with them during training), says Guila Muir, a trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters and author of Instructional Design that Soars: Shaping What You Know into Classes that Inspire (www.guilamuir.com/kite-book). “The good news […]

‘60s Mad Man Gives Advice to 2014s Comp Manager?

(Don Draper is the Creative Director for Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce on the Emmy-winning television series Mad Men. He is a confident, stylish, hard-drinking, chain-smoking 1960s advertising executive.) Nunez, owner of Nunez Leadership Consulting (changedoc10@yahoo.com), offered his Draper-based tips at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition held recently in Orlando. [Go here for Draperisms 1 […]

Train Workers on the Type of Violence They May Encounter in Your Workplace

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, workplace violence typically falls into one of four categories. Customize the following information to the type or types for which your workplace is most at risk. Type I: Criminal intent In this kind of violent incident, the perpetrator has no legitimate relationship to the business […]